DANBURY -- In the frantic moments following a bank robbery, the scene typically resembles an open-air bazaar, as bank employees dart around trying to reassure rattled customers while doing their best to preserve the crime scene until forensics investigators arrive.

Tellers are taught to trigger the silent alarm and secure the building after the robber has left the premises, as investigators pore over the scene for clues to the suspect's identity.

Doug Johnson, vice president of risk management policy for the American Bankers Association, said in a phone interview that bank tellers are trained to comply with all robbery demands. This, despite the presence of so-called "bandit barriers" at many banks, where tellers, sitting behind steel-reinforced counters, are ensconced in inch-thick, bulletproof Plexiglas.

Banks are beginning to work more closely with state and federal law enforcement, said Robert Paquette, a shift in protocol he calls a "game-changer." He said bank employees are also receiving more specialized training to deal with bank robberies.

Paquette, who oversees security operations for Union Savings Banks' 29 area branches, said local law enforcement agencies and the FBI are intertwining their bank robbery investigations, which has helped them track down suspects more quickly.

"Years ago ... one of the biggest impediments was the inability to get information very quickly (to investigators)," Paquette said.

He called the old system of transferring surveillance footage from VHS tapes "laborious."

"A lot of time was lost between the actual robbery and when the police were able to distribute pictures and photographs of the people involved in the robbery," Paquette said. "There's (also) been a dramatic increase in the quality of the video recording equipment that's been installed in."

Unions Savings recently wheeled out its new $500,000 digital video surveillance system with facial-recognition software, which allows security and law enforcement officials to biometrically identify the robber, according to Paquette. The surveillance footage, he said, is stored on the bank's servers for 180 days.

"There might not be any lessons learned. It may be that all the policies and procedures were followed. And that's a lesson learned in itself," Johnson said. "Anything that was a violation of standard procedures points to an opportunity for additional training.

"Experience can cause some additional tweaking to practices."

Contact Libor Jany at ljany@newstimes.com or 203-731-3350. Follow him at twitter.com/ljanyNT